Mike Bruesewitz has the last word on UW's free-throw woes

Madison – The day after a dismal shooting performance in a two-point loss to Michigan State, Bo Ryan’s players were back in the gym shooting.

“But that’s a normal off-day for us,” Wisconsin senior forward Mike Bruesewitz said after practice on Thursday. “Guys are pretty much always in the gym, which is nice to see.”

One area the of concern remained UW’s free-throw shooting.

The Badgers made just 7 of 18 attempts in the loss. They enter their game at 1 p.m. Saturday against visiting Minnesota last in the Big Ten in free-throw shooting at 61.1% (201 of 329). In league games they are hitting just 52.1% of their attempts (50 of 96).

“It’s the six inches between your (ears),” Bruesewitz said when asked if could explain the continued woes.

“That’s the struggle. Everybody’s got a good stroke. You put our worst free-throw shooter in an empty gym and I guarantee you he’ll hit 80%.”

Bruesewitz, who has 6 of his last 8 eight attempts, is shooting 65% in league play. That is the No. 2 mark on the team, behind guard Traevon Jackson (10 of 14, 71.4%).

After Bruesewitz talked about several other topics on Thursday, he was again asked about UW’s season-long free-throw problems.

“I don’t know what the breaking point is,” he said, “and honestly I’m kind of getting tired of getting asked about free throws…

“So I’ll probably stop answering questions about free throws for the rest of the season, if that’s OK with you guys.”